Shadows Linger

Shadows Linger picks up six years after the first book, with the Black Company sweeping out rebels along the Eastern edge of The Lady’s Empire, an expanding force dealing with increasing malaise. They’re suddenly called to Juniper, a frozen city at the northern edge of the world, with a problem: The massive and magical black castle that overlooks the city is growing, and no one knows why.

Half the story follows Croaker and the other men of the company, the other half follows Shed, a down-at-the-heels innkeeper in Juniper, trying to stay one step ahead of his debts. A hard customer, Raven (yes, that Raven), has a way to make easy money, selling corpses to the creatures in the black castle. As it turns out, the black castle is a portal back to the Dominator, and he’s just a few more bodies from returning. Croaker and the rest have to act fast to stop this ultimate evil, and to conceal their own treachery in hiding Raven, the White Rose, and a mass of vital papers from their own boss.

It’s more atmospheric and action packed fantasy, but there’s something off about Shadows Linger. Shed is entirely despicable as a protagonist, the final quarter is overpacked, and even though I know I read this book before, years ago, I couldn’t remember a single plot point or scene, while The Black Company stuck with me.